Brick-handling fork



W. W. WALLACE BRICK HANDLING FORK Nov. 20, 1923 Filed Jn.

27 1921 2 Sheets-'Sheet 1 y Nov. 20, i923 AWLS@ W. VV. WALLACE BRICK HANDLING FORK mea Janjzv. 1921 2 sheets-Sheet 2 Vim/ iff( mf 'D @75L Wm Patented 'Nov'. im, i923.

untreu stares WLLIAM W. WALLACE, OF BUCYRUS, OHO.

BRCK-HANIDLNG FORK.

Application led January 27, 1921.

A To all 'whom t may concer/n,

Beit knownjthat l, WILLIAM W. WAL- LAGE, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Bucyrus, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, have invented :an improvement in- Brick-Handling Forks, of which the following description, in'connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specication, like letters on they drawings representing like parts.

in my present invention l have-devised a brick lifting apparatus which i have designated as a brick handling fork, the same being intended primarily for use in unloading brick from a stack, pile or the like, such as a kiln. lin the art of handling brick by means of mechanical apparatus such as mechanical setting machines, such for example as those shown in the U. S. patent to it. C. Penfield, No. 1,205,562, lissued November 21, 1916, mechanical setting machines have been developed and successfully used in the building of brick kilns wherein a unit of stacked vbrick in desired spaced relation was delivered to and unloadedfroma setting apparatus directly into the kiln. However, it hasbeen impractical heretofore to utilize mechanical brick lifting devices-to remove from a kiln after the bricks are burned, a unit or a considerable quantity of brick. rlhis diiculty yhas-been caused by the fact that the rows or courses of brick lin a kiln shrink unevenly and vary in their horizontal 'alinement Not only does each course of brick shrink. in a somewhat'diderent manner from those adjacent it, when burned', but

such variation is apt to be distortedthrou'ghout a plurality of courses. Consequently the rows of brick in a kiln, after the kiln is burned, are in a very wavelike formation, the rows or coursesappearing in undulating llines of varying extent, but mostly distorted from a horizontal plane.. Because of this fact it has beenimpr'actical to use asetter with brick engaging fingers in alinement as the line of the brickit'self was so distorted and never in alinement after'the brick 'are' burned.

lin my present invention I have aimed to provide a mechanical brick handling apparatus capable of use to be applied to the face of a kiln of burned brick. irrespective of the disalinement of the lrows or courses of brick, and to enable the fingers of the apparatus to follow lthe undulations or distortions in the rows of brick so' that the fin- Serial No. 440,324.

gers-can be fitted at any desired point and substantially a full unit of brick can thus be unloaded from a kiln, as was set when building the kiln. To this end l provide a setting apparatus having each brick lifting and engaging finger independently adjustable with regard to the verticalposition of said finger on the apparatus.v Furthermore l provide each finger with a tapered point so that as the apparatus is applied to the brick and forced inwardly, eacli finger will, independently of each other, follow the line` of the course of brick to which it is applied. lt will'be appreciated that burned brick in the kiln are'in spaced or hacked relation and therefore the narrow forward end of each finger will enable the apparatus to be forced into the interstices between the brick, following the lines of least resistancel and .permitting the finger to assume a higher or lower vertical position to enable it to be thus forced into the mass of brick in the kiln.

When the apparatus is in place, preferably under a considerable plurality of rows of brick, in order to remove the unit, it is then lifted, and all the brick engaging fingers which were disalined during the process of applying the 'unloading fork to the brick stack, will settle down into the same horizontal plane, against suitable stops, and thus the entire mass of brick lifted out as a unit land simultaneously straightened, realined and settled into a `horizontal plane at the bottom portion.

rlherefor'e the unit can be set down from the unloading fork ,with the bottom courses even and adapted to rest firmly an',1 squarely upon the car, platform, or other` support..

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a kfront view of an unloading fork;

Fig. 2 is a side view at one end.

The unloading fork or apparatus comprises a framework adapt-ed to be swung from an overhead support, either a turntable or a four point suspension, to a crane, traveling carriage, beam or the like. ik light, strong, rigid framework is therefore provided, consisting in a pair of arms 1 and 2 from which'the eye-bolts or links 3, 3 and 4:, extend, affording the four-point suspension.-I To these arms 1) are attached a pair of vertical extending'plates 5, 5, and 6, 6, the latter extending rearwardly and spaced llO slightly from the front plates 5, as shown in Fig. 42, and united at the base portion by brackets 16, 16, to which is `secured a horizontal plate 10 extending' substantially throu hout the entire length .of the apparatus. ross-braces 11, 12,- 13 and .14 extend from the frame plates 5 to the plate 10, being. securely bolted as illustrated in Fi 1.

This plate 10 has a lurality ofper orations therethrough, eaeli one being suitable to receive, freely, a' rod 20, threadedat its uppermost portion and carrying a cup bearing 21 to contact with a coiled spring 22, the latter being tensioned between the plate 10 and the cup bearing 21, said cup bein held in adjusted position by` lock nuts 24 an 25. In the apparatus shown in the attached drawings I have provided 13 brick engaging fingers and therefore in the plate 10 are 13 perforations and a similar number of springs 22, rods. 20, and attached 'members Any desired number or pluralit can be supplied and with the fingers space as desired..

These fingers extend forward `a suiii# cient distance to pick up and transport the desired unit of brick to be handled, the spac ing of the lsupporting eye bolts 3 and 4 being arranged' to afford a horizontal position of the apparatus whether loaded or unloaded. Each finger 30 is mounted to move independently in a vertical. relation with thev fadjacent. n ers, as labove explained, to

/be fitted wit in the interstices within the ybrick when being applied to the kiln or stack for picking olf a mass of brick to be removed. These fingers 30 are preferably formed to 'be carried by La vertical sliding carriage 33, the fingers bein .formed with a vertical rod 34 and a ange top portion .135 to afford a dovetailed engagement with ,a correspond# ing socket portion 136 of the carrier 33. I have here shown the carrier 33 as adapted to encircle and partially enclose a bearing member 35, the latter -being formedwith a` flange 36 adapted to be secured underneath' `the plate 10 and in alinement withl the` springs 21 and rod 20 by a plurality of bolts'37 and 38. This member 35 is formed hollow as indicated at 39, to receive the rod 20 which extends therethrough and is4 attached to the carriage 33 by pins 40 and 41.

The member 35, formed hollow to receivesaid rod 20, is also provided Awith slots'.44,`

extending laterally through below a predetermined point to permit the pins 40 and 41 to slide downwardly when desired, the u permost pin 40 contacting witl.l the top ol) the slot 44 when the carrier 33 a, ad consequently the ngers 30 are raised in uppermost position, as. shown in Fig. 2. The member 35 is formed Awith forward and backward tracks upon surfaces u on which rollers 45 at the front and 46 an rear of the carrier 33 are adapted to travel,

47 at vthe these preferably being in suiiiciently tight When the apparatus y of a brick kiln, stack or the like, all the fingers 30 may be in different horizontal position land with no torsional strain on the apparatus downwardposition and thus being frictional engagement to normally hold the carrier 33 and its attached fingersBG in'any vertical position to which the member may to permit. the finger 30` to find its way through the course of brick to whichit is *being applied when using the apparatus as an unloading fork.

nor on each other. I VAs soon as liftin strain i's applied,`then all the fingers 30 sett e down to the limit of the vertical movement afforded, and thus the lower part ofthe unit of brick being picked out vof the kiln by the fork, is straightened up and realined into a horizontal plane, thereby 'greatly facilitating unloading ofthe unit,`insuring its being maintained 1n horizontal position, while transported, and truing up the entire unit or stack thus handled. v y

Itwill be appreciated that my brick hand-v applied tothe face l gel" 30 are independently vertically movable, 'i

loo

ling apparatus can be utilized as an ordinary -bricksetter by having all the fingers 30 and their supporting travelling carrlages 33 in .maintained horizontal. villVhen so positionedthe brick handling fork can be employed like an ordinary bricksetter, such as that of said Penfield patent and advantageously utilized in setting brick in the kiln, taking them olf vthe drier car or other conveyance.

I believe that'the provision of a brick ing its brick engaging in'gersdisalined for loading purposesas well as the provision of a-brick handling apparatus equally suitable both for taking green brick inv stacked units from a drier car or the like and building them into a kiln for burning' and then a kiln irrespective of the disalinement of the, rows of brick by the burning, are distinct novelties and I wish to claim these features herein broadly.

lMyinvention is further described and defined in the form of claims as follows: .Bricliv handling apparatus of the kind described,-comprising an overhead support,

a plurality of horizontally extending brick Ahandling apparatus or fork capable of havf thereafter removing the burned brick from Mmm@ @engaging Engels @mi means comecimg said. ngel's ,and said support consismg im a, Vertical bearing rigidly @mashed w sm@ "frame, a cmrage adapted fm Wm'iica slid- 5 ing movement 0n the beaming membw amd @MW/ing bhe horzonm Qm'L-fcnn members between said mag@ amd said 

